Question Is Corr worth sticking with?

[TravellingBlue]

Paterson - an intelligent footballer? You have got to be joking. He is one of the least positionally aware players I have seen at Southend. He is skillful but his reading of a game is woeful. I agree that Sawyer is an intelligent footballer but your comment about Sturrock not dropping players that he knows is lazy and inaccurate. I get fed up of reading how everyone on the bench is brilliant and everyone on the pitch is rubbish - we've lost ONE GAME after a sustained winning run!

Here we go again, lets have another pop at Paterson - you just can't help yourself - Paterson is one of the most intelligent footballers in the squad - he's streets ahead techncially of Corr or Blair who are nothing more than battering rams up front. Corr has done very well, he has scored some very good goals - Blair runs around like a headless chicken and everyone loves him - but he doesn't score goals - open your eyes - we need another striker on the pitch who can find the back of the net.

I am more fed up with watching the Corr/Sturrock combination up front. They are both slow and don't press or put any pressure on defenders. They both play the same game which is holding the ball/flick ons, but this means that they need a quick speedy partner with an eye for goal to play with. With them both being PS favourites we will no doubt be subjected to more of the same for most of the season, unless injuries to one or both come to our rescue. Probably the most non threatening strike force we have put out for many a year.

I would agree that I have been fed up with the Corr/Blair partnership for quite a while - only because, and I have said this all along - they are too similiar. I wouldn't say they don't press defences, because in Blair's case that is all he does, and he does put in the effort. You hit the nail on the head by quoting they are both Sturrock's favourites - this has been a problem for me. He has almost exclusively given the pitch time to Corr/Blair and then supplemented their ommissions with loaned in strikers who have all to a man been particularly poor - he has not focused on the other strikers in our squad - Pato, Harry and Screech. Maybe they're not good enough - but I would have rather seen any of those three on the pitch on Saturday after watching Barry/Blair's very poor displays - he has to mix it up.

I am delighted with Corr's scoring record this season - he must be as frustrated as anyone with his back problem, which probably has hindered his career reaching bigger heights.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

Blair runs around like a headless chicken and everyone loves him - but he doesn't score goals - open your eyes - we need another striker on the pitch who can find the back of the net.

This still point still pops up, it probably will forever.

Blair ISN'T there to score. Although he has popped up with a couple. I'd like to know the stats on how many he has actually created and involved in whether that's the final pass or build up play before the final pass.

'Open your eyes'

However I agree I would like another option upfront, maybe Harry is the option? Sturrock obviously rates him otherwise he wouldn't be kept on the bench and being brought on from time to time!

 

[superblue24]

From what I've seen of Corr he's a decent player, but PS needs to play him OR Blair + A.N.Other. They do not combine well together as although they both work very hard, their end product\finishing is not very good (those of you there last Tuesday will have seen Corrs hilarious attempt at a scissors kick).

We need a striker with a good finishing touch and maybe a bit of pace to play alongside one of the current two.

 

[WightShrimper]

It seems to me that in an ideal world, a manager will mix and match his squad in order to make life difficult for the opposition to know what they are going to be up against.
Yes, I know that a manager is loathe to break up a winning formula, and the crowd would soon be on his back if he did so unsuccessfully, but I'm sure that's why Bilel did so well up front- the opposition had only seen him as a defender. And before everyone comes back with 'well lets shove Morris up front', all I am saying is that maybe some changes in partnership up front might yield some results.

 

[TravellingBlue]

This still point still pops up, it probably will forever.

Blair ISN'T there to score. Although he has popped up with a couple. I'd like to know the stats on how many he has actually created and involved in whether that's the final pass or build up play before the final pass.

'Open your eyes'

However I agree I would like another option upfront, maybe Harry is the option? Sturrock obviously rates him otherwise he wouldn't be kept on the bench and being brought on from time to time!

This is the one sentence that I continually see posted on here, and I'm afraid it completely infuriates me!!

Strikers are PAID to score goals, not hold the ball up well and have a nice touch here and there - if he's not scoring - change him!!

 

[Rob Noxious]

My guess is that we'd all like this quick and lethal finisher, but perhaps they're not in a great hurry to come here on loan.

 

[South Bank Hank]

This is the one sentence that I continually see posted on here, and I'm afraid it completely infuriates me!!

Strikers are PAID to score goals, not hold the ball up well and have a nice touch here and there - if he's not scoring - change him!!

Out of fairness, it infuriates me too when people try to see football as an exact science - forward scores, he's great, forward blanks, he's failed. Gone are the days when the forward player's only job was to score goals. If Blair's not scoring the goals but we're more potent as a team by having him in it, then he's worthy of his place.

Would I like to see him scoring more? Of course.

 

[onceknownasrab]

My guess is that we'd all like this quick and lethal finisher, but perhaps they're not in a great hurry to come here on loan.

I make you right. It would be naive to expect an out and out scorer, cherished by all teams, to come to us. They are few and far between. I feel my initial point has been lost here though. My questioning Corrs inclusion is that his goals/played tally flatters to deceive. Again I reiterate that his goals have only got us points in six matches and I expect his misses have cost us points in at least as many. Secondly, more importantly, we look best when we play the ball on the deck which negates the point of a lump unit up front. I feel if we play more to our strengths we will score more against unimpressive league two defences that rely heavily on height and bulk and are at best capable of snuffing out the majority of aerial challenges. How many dividends have we reaped when banging the ball long and high?

 

[TravellingBlue]

Out of fairness, it infuriates me too when people try to see football as an exact science - forward scores, he's great, forward blanks, he's failed. Gone are the days when the forward player's only job was to score goals. If Blair's not scoring the goals but we're more potent as a team by having him in it, then he's worthy of his place.

Would I like to see him scoring more? Of course.

Gone are the days of when the forward player's only job was to score goals?

God I wish we had that luxury - that's my point - it's a luxury, we need our forwards to be scoring goals, relying ONLY on Corr is just not good enough - Saturday just highlighted how bad we are when he's not playing well.

Playing Blair as a second striker - who doesn't score goals is a luxury we can ill afford.

 

[Wise Head]

Another ridiculous post. Have you actually watched Corr and Sturrock this season?

It's ludicrous to complain that they don't press as they are two of the hardest working forwards we've had at the club in years.

Yes thanks, most home games and some away.

Sorry to disagree but they don't press hard, they lumber up to a defender to make sure they play it upfield. Pressing hard to me is putting the defenders under pressure to hurry their clerances and create a bit of panic. If you were at the game on Saturday you could visibly notice the difference when Crawford came on and there were a few hurried clearances and we actually looked like we wanted to score.

As for ridiculous post, I haven't seen anyone yet stating they are in favour of both Corr & Sturrock playing up front together.

 

[South Bank Hank]

Gone are the days of when the forward player's only job was to score goals?

God I wish we had that luxury - that's my point - it's a luxury, we need our forwards to be scoring goals, relying ONLY on Corr is just not good enough - Saturday just highlighted how bad we are when he's not playing well.

Playing Blair as a second striker - who doesn't score goals is a luxury we can ill afford.

Depends if we're playing him as a second striker or as a second player in the forward line to bring other attacking players into the game. I get what you're saying but it really doesn't matter where the goals come from. If the supporting forward sets up a hat-trick for his partner and/or the midfield, then he's more than made his contribution. The biggest problem we have is that NEITHER of the front two are prolific at the moment.

 

[TravellingBlue]

Depends if we're playing him as a second striker or as a second player in the forward line to bring other attacking players into the game. I get what you're saying but it really doesn't matter where the goals come from. If the supporting forward sets up a hat-trick for his partner and/or the midfield, then he's more than made his contribution. The biggest problem we have is that NEITHER of the front two are prolific at the moment.

If Blair had 20 assists this season I could understand your reasoning - simple fact is he hasn't.

I believe I'm right in saying Ryan Hall has the most assists (playing half as many games as Blair), which shows that the majority of our goals come from the wing - not Blair holding it up and passing it on.

I am not knocking Blair, he is a good enough player at this level and he does show the passion and commitment that the fans want - however, he does not have goals in his locker, therefore imho we should have looked at our other strikers a lot more than we have this season - and because we haven't, we are struggling.

 

[Kris]

Yes thanks, most home games and some away.

Sorry to disagree but they don't press hard, they lumber up to a defender to make sure they play it upfield. Pressing hard to me is putting the defenders under pressure to hurry their clerances and create a bit of panic. If you were at the game on Saturday you could visibly notice the difference when Crawford came on and there were a few hurried clearances and we actually looked like we wanted to score.

As for ridiculous post, I haven't seen anyone yet stating they are in favour of both Corr & Sturrock playing up front together.

I think a fit Corr and Sturrock remain our best combination. Corr, when fully fit, causes no end of problems for opposition defences with his aerial ability, while Sturrock Jr has the best footballing brain in the squad. He continually finds space, pulling defenders out of position and allowing others to go beyond him, has a great first touch, and can spread play with either foot. He was also at the heart of our best move on Saturday, playing in Gilbert, who should have hit the target at the very least. As such, they complement one another well.

I always find it odd when people continually rubbish the forward line. As SBH says, it is a TEAM game and we've been banging in the goals left, right and centre since December and Saturday's game was the first we'd failed to score in since October. Both Corr and Sturrock could do with a rest, though - Corr for his back problem and Sturrock to recuperate as he's worked his arse off in recent games. For this to happen, however, we need to dip into the loan market this week as Paterson and Crawford are more effective from the bench.

 

[TravellingBlue]

I think a fit Corr and Sturrock remain our best combination. Corr, when fully fit, causes no end of problems for opposition defences with his aerial ability, while Sturrock Jr has the best footballing brain in the squad. He continually finds space, pulling defenders out of position and allowing others to go beyond him, has a great first touch, and can spread play with either foot. He was also at the heart of our best move on Saturday, playing in Gilbert, who should have hit the target at the very least. As such, they complement one another well.

I always find it odd when people continually rubbish the forward line. As SBH says, it is a TEAM game and we've been banging in the goals left, right and centre since December and Saturday's game was the first we'd failed to score in since October. Both Corr and Sturrock could do with a rest, though - Corr for his back problem and Sturrock to recuperate as he's worked his arse off in recent games. For this to happen, however, we need to dip into the loan market this week as Paterson and Crawford are more effective from the bench.

If you truly believe this then we are doomed! I see him no more than a Southern Conference team player who has a couple of nice touches - isn't it good to have varied opinions!!!

As for rubbishing the front line - only Corr has stepped up to the mark - only Corr and Blair have had the opportunity to step up to the mark, so Blair hasn't, simples. Our loans in Jarvis, Midson, Germain and Fairhurst have been nothing short of woeful (even if Midson did get a couple he was terrible in all his other games). By not playing our other forwards we now find ourselves completely blunt up front due to Corr not being fit - therefore PS needs to really integrate the strikers who are sat twiddling their thumbs or bring a striker in on loan. The latter has not proved fruitful so far.

 

[ibwiajwa]

Here we go again, lets have another pop at Paterson - you just can't help yourself - Paterson is one of the most intelligent footballers in the squad - he's streets ahead techncially of Corr or Blair who are nothing more than battering rams up front.
- he has not focused on the other strikers in our squad - Pato, Harry and Screech. Maybe they're not good enough - but I would have rather seen any of those three on the pitch on Saturday after watching Barry/Blair's very poor displays - he has to mix it up.

I am not knocking Blair.

If you truly believe this then we are doomed! I see him no more than a Southern Conference team player who has a couple of nice touches

Playing Blair as a second striker - who doesn't score goals is a luxury we can ill afford.

But you're not knocking Blair!! :hilarious: You just can't help yourself..... Scoring goals hasn't really been a problem - we have only failed to score in 5 out of 28 league matches this season. Our biggest problem is in defence. Blair and Corr both contribute a huge amount defensively as you will know if you've watched them carefully. If we put Paterson and/or Crawford into the mix, we would be even weaker defensively which is "a luxury that we can ill afford." Your understanding of the striker's role is terribly simplistic. Peter Beardsley only scored 9 goals for England. The English can thank God that you weren't in charge of the team!

 

[DTS]

Personally the issue is not Corr its the service Corr recieves.

He has scored what ten league goals already. No-one else attack wise is going to get anywhere near that. He is not easy on the eye but he is effect at this level. I would also add that an attack that features a combo of Patterson/Crawford/Sturrock is going to be bullied at this level.

If you had supply from one side like you do from Hall I suspect he would get a lot more.

 

[EastStandBlue]

But you're not knocking Blair!! :hilarious: You just can't help yourself..... Scoring goals hasn't really been a problem - we have only failed to score in 5 out of 28 league matches this season. Our biggest problem is in defence. Blair and Corr both contribute a huge amount defensively as you will know if you've watched them carefully. If we put Paterson and/or Crawford into the mix, we would be even weaker defensively which is "a luxury that we can ill afford." Your understanding of the striker's role is terribly simplistic. Peter Beardsley only scored 9 goals for England. The English can thank God that you weren't in charge of the team!

I wouldn't say that... When everybody's match fit, the defense we can boast is arguably one of the most impressive in the division. The problem's in, or at least was, in midfield as we weren't contributing anywhere near enough goals from these positions. Hall took the mantle recently, but came up against a thoroughly impressive opponent at the weekend and was shut out.

I think the reaction we've seen to Saturday's result/performance is typical of this board. We've lost a game, our first after a run of four wins and a draw, and we're revisiting the doom and gloom.

 

[ibwiajwa]

I wouldn't say that... When everybody's match fit, the defense we can boast is arguably one of the most impressive in the division. The problem's in, or at least was, in midfield as we weren't contributing anywhere near enough goals from these positions. Hall took the mantle recently, but came up against a thoroughly impressive opponent at the weekend and was shut out.

I think the reaction we've seen to Saturday's result/performance is typical of this board. We've lost a game, our first after a run of four wins and a draw, and we're revisiting the doom and gloom.

We have kept only 7 clean sheets in 28 games in the league this season so we can't be that strong in defence. Eight clubs have done better than that (Chesterfield have 13) and 6 have the same. Defence doesn't just involve the back line. Even there, we have only three strong players - Barker, Mohsni and Clohessy. We are much better at scoring from midfield than we were last year - 12 goals so far (we only got 9 in the whole season last year). I completely agree with you about the hysterical reaction to Saturday's game though - we're third in the form guide for the division! Still, there's no pleasing some people....

 

[Blue_Wes]

How we have moved on from the past year is brilliant.
We are moaning at our top goal scorer with 11 goals?

Its not so much moaning about Corr but about the fact he is the best we have to offer. Another transfer window drifted by and Sturrocks claims, live on radio, are a work of fiction. Corr having twelve goals is a testament to the number of opportunities created by the team as opposed to Corr as a finisher. He is our main striker and has missed an unacceptable number of chances. Coupled with the fact his goals have only won us points in six matches this season and it becomes clear the severity of the problem. We have a defender who had played park football up until this season and his goals return when played as striker makes a mockery of Corrs scoring prowess. If Bilel can make the most of opportunities created then maybe Paterson or Crawford might. Corr has not done enough to warrant instant inclusion or preference.

Sorry, I fail to see how this can be a criticism labled at Corr. In a ridiculous thread this is one of the strangest comments. If Barry Corr is scoring his goals, he is doing his job. If the rest of the team aren't doing their's and subsequently conceding goals to cancel out the good work he is doing in scoring, that's hardly his fault. He can only do what he is put on the pitch to do. Perfect example being Morecambe, he scored one of our two, but the team conceded 3, so by your reckoning this is a derogative slant on Corr's goalscoring record because the team didn't pick up any points? Your holding Corr responsible for aspects of the game that are out of his control.

Edit: This stat also does not take into consideration that he has rescued three cup ties - one of which we ultimately lost on pens, but a further contribution all the same.

It's a typical knee jerk reaction of our fans that a player who is doing well, is now criticised for actions out of his control - even more so when he wasn't the worst striker on the pitch Saturday.

 

[TravellingBlue]

But you're not knocking Blair!! :hilarious: You just can't help yourself..... Scoring goals hasn't really been a problem - we have only failed to score in 5 out of 28 league matches this season. Our biggest problem is in defence. Blair and Corr both contribute a huge amount defensively as you will know if you've watched them carefully. If we put Paterson and/or Crawford into the mix, we would be even weaker defensively which is "a luxury that we can ill afford." Your understanding of the striker's role is terribly simplistic. Peter Beardsley only scored 9 goals for England. The English can thank God that you weren't in charge of the team!

Scoring goals hasn't really been a problem? Maybe not for Corr but for Blair it's one hell of a problem!
Our biggest problem is defence? - are you serious, we have one of the best defences in the league!
Weaker defensively if we throw different strikers in the mix - are you serious - when we need goals we don't bring on defenders?
Strikers role is terribly simplistic - yes it is - strikers = goals, end of
If I was in charge of the England team I would be picking strikers who score goals, not strikers who hold the ball up nicely!

Your hatred of any striker other than Blair is simply dumbfounding - you just cannot have a single word written against the man - I will ask you again - is he a family member?

To get back on thread - Corr has done a good job for us and scored a few goals - he needs a striker partner who can do the same - that isn't Blair.